Harare - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe
visited neighbouring SouthAfrica on "private business" at the weekend, the
state-owned daily Heraldreported on Monday, denying reports that he went
there for a medicalcheck-up.

"The president is as fit as none of his
detractors can ever hope to be in alifetime," the presidency's secretary for
information and publicity, GeorgeCharamba, told the newspaper.

He
added that Mugabe was on leave, and had "in the context of that leave,gone
to South Africa strictly on private and not official business".

Several
South African newspapers, citing well-placed sources, reported onMonday that
Mugabe, 79, arrived in Johannesburg on Saturday morning and thenwent to
Pretoria for medical attention.

South African President Thabo Mbeki's
spokesperson, Bheki Khumalo, told theJohannesburg-based The Citizen: "We
have not been officially informed thatthe president is in South
Africa.

"He is not going to meet President Thabo Mbeki and he did not ask
for ameeting with the president."

Mbeki announced last week that
Mugabe had agreed to resume "formal talks"with the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change in an attempt to resolveZimbabwe's socio-economic and
political crises.

President Robert Mugabe is under observation at an exclusive
clinic inPretoria after being secretly airlifted out of Zimbabwe for
medicaltreatment. The 79-year-old president's private room was being watched
byarmed bodyguards after his collapse at his state residence in the
capitalHarare on Saturday morning. Sources among his private security
staffdescribed how Mugabe was too weak to stand after spending the
nightvomiting. A team of personal doctors, called by his wife, Grace,
decided heshould go to hospital. Mugabe was flown to Johannesburg airport
where he washelped into a limousine and taken to a private hospital in
Pretoria.Witnesses among the immigration staff said Mugabe appeared to be
weak andunable to walk unaided. At the clinic, his condition was not
considered tobe life-threatening, but doctors advised him to stay in for
observation. Hecould be released today. With his country in crisis, the
president'sadvisers believed it was too dangerous for him to be treated in
Zimbabwe.Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's largest union yesterday threatened a
nationwide strikeif one of its sacked leaders was not reinstated to his
government job AndZimbabwe is planning to set up special courts to handle
cases of fraud andsimilar crimes amid the country's economic crisis.

Some 3 million
Zimbabweans have fled their country to seek sanctuary and work in South Africa,
most of them illegally. Neither the River Limpopo with its crocodiles nor the
electric fence can keep them out. Nor can the South African police, who truck
them back to Zimbabwe as fast as they can. They return in a few days. Nearly
half a million have already been deported, but the South African president,
Thabo Mbeki, hardly seems concerned. As a fellow-Marxist he is still practising
towards his brother president in Zimbabwe the "quiet diplomacy" which is so
silent that neither Mr Mugabe nor anyone else can hear it.

The South African
High Commission in Harare demands a deposit of US$150 for a fortnight's visit to
South Africa. It is hoped that this will ensure the applicant's return to
Zimbabwe. Such is the nightmare of today's Zimbabwe that anything up to 10% or
20% of the population have abandoned home and country in search of food,
security and a tolerable life.

Many thousands more
have fled over Zimbabwe's Eastern Highlands to poverty-stricken Mozambique. Some
are already working there for the very same farmers whom they served in Zimbabwe
before both employers and employees were driven out of their homes and farms!
(These farmers have been welcomed and have started again from scratch in
Mozambique.) Hardest hit of all the neighbouring states is the tiny country of
Botswana, perhaps the best run in present-day Africa. Its legal population is
1.7 million. Penniless refugees from Zimbabwe are reported to number over
60,000, swamping the country with beggary and theft.

Apparently no
figures are available for the number of doctors and lawyers and other
professionals who have left Zimbabwe for lands where their skills are
appreciated and paid for. It is now said that most Zimbabweans can no longer
understand their doctors, who come from Cuba. Working in decaying hospitals with
few drugs they face a formidable task. The local Zimbabwean doctors are on
strike for a living wage, and are backed by the nurses. With rocketing inflation
(now at least 500% per annum) they are desperate. On the black market it can
cost as much as Z$6,000 to buy a single US dollar!

Unemployment is 70%
of the working population.

THE WHITE
PENSIONERS

There are still an
estimated 12,000 white pensioners in Zimbabwe, with no means of escape. Many
came, encouraged by Britain at the end of World War 2. They helped to build
Rhodesia into one of the best-ruled countries in Africa, and they planned
meticulously for their future. Their plans have been destroyed by Robert Mugabe
and by the treachery of British governments who abandoned them. (Since 1980
there has not been an election in Zimbabwe, presidential or otherwise, free from
intimidation: including the original election which put Mugabe into power. An
American Senate report described this latter as the biggest con of the century.)
Today most of these white pensioners are destitute and dependent on the help of
charities. A few, facing starvation, take the only way out: suicide.

Cathy Buckle
writes: "They have set up another huge commission made up of top ministers to
find out exactly why there is no foreign currency in the country. I find it
beyond belief that a cabinet stuffed full of men with doctorates apparently
cannot work out why if all the land is seized and all export-earning sources are
stopped it doesn't add up that there is no foreign currency. The lack of foreign
money has made thieves, liars and cheats of us all. To survive we have to buy
essential goods on the black market." She adds that "this week a replacement
fuel pump for a car was priced at Z$10 million."

Some hyperbole is
indeed justified. To be strictly accurate there are still some 600 farmers on
their land, out of the original (approximately) 4,500. There may be a few people
still living more or less normal lives. And there are still some exports
bringing in a little foreign currency.

THE DAILY
NEWS

The "Daily News",
Zimbabwe's most popular newspaper, tried to "tell it like it is." It was
brutally and violently suppressed by armed police, and its equipment stolen or
destroyed. It brought legal action and, after six weeks, an administrative court
allowed it to resume publication. An eight-page edition was produced, and sold
out in two hours. It was again attacked and decimated by the police, and today
it is produced in South Africa and can only be read on the internet. Eighteen
members of staff were immediately detained, and the police then went looking for
the directors of the newspaper. Arriving at the home of the Chief Executive, Mr
Nkorno, they did not find him. So they arrested his niece, who has no connection
with the paper. She was held hostage until the directors handed themselves in.
These were detained for two days in a stinking gaol, denied access to lawyers
and were finally released (with the niece) on $50,000 bail and after signing
admission of guilt forms. Their gaol was infested with lice and bed-bugs. They
still have court cases hanging over their heads.

The detention and
torture of opposition leaders and members continues unabated, electric shocks
being used to reduce the victims to convulsions. Candidates for local elections
have been prevented from submitting their papers and pro-government candidates
declared elected unopposed. Marondera (Marandellas) is a case in
point.

Beatrice Mtetwa,
one of Zimbabwe's most brilliant lawyers, was assaulted and beaten by police in
October. She had defended Andrew Meldrum of the "Guardian" before he was
violently kicked out of Zimbabwe. Police had been called to assist Mrs Mtetwa
when her vehicle was attacked by car thieves. But instead of pursuing the
thieves they took Mrs Mtetwa into custody on the trumped up charge of
drink-driving. (They refused her a breathalyser or a blood test.) She was
battered on the way to Borrowdale police station and almost choked on her
arrival there. She needed urgent medical treatment after she finally got
away.

We could go on
writing - of the hunger, the shortage of drinking water and of fuel and electric
power, of the wanton destruction or seizure of the country's remaining assets,
the desperate plight of the AIDS orphans, the agonies of survivors trying to
bury their dead. Having spent a fortune on the funeral you may return in the
morning to find the corpse lying on the ground and the coffin gone.

Those of us who
knew Rhodesia in its heyday can barely imagine today's Zimbabwe.

AN APOSTATE
BISHOP

Few stories can be
more mind-boggling than that of Bishop Nolbert Kunonga, bishop of Harare and the
senior Anglican churchman in the country. His election was highly controversial:
he was evidently a Mugabe "plant" and does not even know when the Church
celebrates Ascension Day! He has attempted to seize dictatorial powers in his
diocese, being thwarted only by the vigilance of the Diocesan Chancellor whom he
tried illegally to sack. Unbelievably, he has now seized St Marnock's Farm,
outside Harare, whose rightful white owner had been expelled and replaced by
black "settlers." Some 50 of these the bishop has had driven out, putting his
son and his family in their place. Needless to say the farm is already wrecked,
and the bishop himself knows nothing about agriculture, The reputation of the
Anglican Church in Zimbabwe is in tatters, and its spiritual mission all but
destroyed. The congregation of Harare cathedral is up in arms, together with
faithful Anglicans in Zimbabwe itself and much further afield.

The responsible
Archbishop is Bernard Malango of the Province of Central Africa, who resides in
Malawi. It is widely felt that he has not the strength to deal with such an
unprecedented apostasy. The Provincial Episcopal Synod could presumably unseat
Kunonga, but might need unanimity. This can hardly be hoped for while the bishop
of Masvingo (Fort Victoria) is another Mugabe "plant." We ourselves have no idea
how this calamitous situation can be dealt with. The Archbishop of Canterbury -
himself weighed down by a comparable rebellion in the American Anglican Church -
has at present no authority whatever in the matter. Attempts are being made,
belatedly, to give him the power to intervene in provinces where the plain
teaching of Scripture is being flouted. Meanwhile we implore the prayers of all
Christians, not merely Anglicans, for the Anglican Church in
Zimbabwe.

WHAT CAN WE
DO?

You may ask: What
can we do? The honest answer is that our small Rhodesia Christian Group can do
precious little. But precious little is not nothing. At present we are sending
out Christmas cheques to dispossessed Rhodesians in several countries. But our
practical work goes far beyond this, and is basically a work with individuals
and with individual problems. It involves much prayer, much writing and
correspondence, much telephoning, a good deal of travel and numberless
interviews. It includes helping people within Zimbabwe, and others trying to
move out – not to mention dispossessed citizens looking for a home and work in
new countries. And most of this is done by Mr Denis Walker, with his few
helpers. We are sometimes almost overwhelmed with gratitude for our apparently
small efforts, but the gratitude is above all to YOU who by your prayers and
your sacrifices make the whole thing possible.

"Then shall the
King say unto them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred,
and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and
ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in
prison, and ye came unto me. "Then shall the righteous
answer him, saying, Lord, When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or
naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick or in prison, and came unto
thee? "Then shall the King say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto
me" (Matthew 25.34-40).

Rev. Fr. Arthur Lewis is the President of
Rhodesia Christian Group and a board member of Frontline Fellowship. Rev. Lewis
was a Church of England Missionary to Tanzania, Rhodesia and South Africa for
over 40 years. He is the author of "Too Bright the Vision".

By DANNY ROSE26/01/04A ZIMBABWEAN student has
spent the Australia Day long weekend locked in a Hobart cell awaiting
deportation within days.

His distressed mates said the 23-year-old from
Zimbabwe was about to be thrown out of the country on a technicality.

John Davies, 22, and Bill Castley, 21, of Hobart,
said their close friend Munyaradzi Chiraramiro, or "Munya", had been the victim
of a visa mix-up.

The Immigration Department was now determined to
return him to a country that was in economic crisis, they said.

"He was working hard but obviously the Australian
dream hasn't worked for him," Mr Davies said yesterday.

"Technically he broke the rules but it's such an easy
line to cross. Munya didn't even realise he'd crossed it."

The pair said Munya had accidentally missed a
critical 28-day window to reapply for a visa.

He can appeal but the pair say they have been told
success is unlikely.

Munya is due to be deported after midnight tomorrow.

He was just one semester short of completing his
three-year commerce degree at the University of Tasmania, his friends said. He
had studied entrepreneurialism and had visions of opening an African-themed bar.

"He's a great guy," Mr Castley said. "He was in the
higher bracket at uni, a very good student."

NEWZIMBABWE COMMENT

Many Zimbabweans are indeed humbled by the selflessness of John Davies
and Bill Castley who have stood behind their friend who clearly faces a bleak
future is he is deported back to Zimbabwe.We hope the Australian authorities
who have been very vocal about the brutality and excesses of the Mugabe regime
will have a rethink - Editor

He had kept his visa and financial troubles to
himself, they said, but the crisis had eventually become apparent.

As a foreign student, he faced up-front university
fees of thousands of dollars each semester.

His family had provided for him initially, but
difficulties arose after the Zimbabwean dollar crashed early last year.

It is understood Munya's late payment of university
fees voided his student visa.

He then applied for a bridging visa, which allowed
him to work.

"He was just managing to get by," Mr Davies said. "He
wasn't scamming anyone and he was working two jobs.

"But the bridging visa was invalid because he didn't
fill it in properly."

The pair said this did not come to light until the
28-day window to reapply had expired.

Munya was apprehended by Immigration Department
officials while he was at work at a Hobart hotel on Wednesday evening.

He was taken straight into custody at the Hobart
Remand Centre, where he remains.

The Castley family cut short a holiday in the state's
North-West to rush to Hobart yesterday.

They hope to see Munya today.

He had spent Christmas with the Castley family in
2002.

And in a final blow, it also appears Munya is facing
a bill of thousands of dollars to pay for his own detention and deportation.

"He'll have to pay that money if he ever wants to
return to Australia," Mr Davies said.

"It seems Australia is a pretty good place, for
certain people."

No comment could be obtained from the University of
Tasmania yesterday.

But an Immigration Department spokesman confirmed
they were aware of Munya's plight.

The
Daily News, Zimbabwe's only independent daily, resumed publication
todayafter police closed it on September 12, 2003, following a Supreme
Courtdeclaration that the newspaper was operating
illegally.

Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), the company that owns
the DailyNews, had refused to register the newspaper with the government's
Media andInformation Commission (MIC) in 2003. Instead, the company mounted
aconstitutional challenge to the Access to Information and Protection
ofPrivacy Act, which mandates registration.

Following the Supreme
Court's September 2003 declaration, the ANZ attemptedto register the Daily
News, but the MIC rejected its application. Though anadministrative court
has directed the MIC to register the newspaper, thecommission has still not
complied.

On December 19, 2003, after an administrative court ruled that
the papershould be permitted to resume publication, police occupied the
offices ofthe Daily News and the premises of the ANZ's printing press. The
policerefused to allow journalists to enter the buildings to work.

On
January 9, 2004, a High Court judge ordered police to vacate thenewspaper's
offices and printing press, but police remained on the premises.On January
21, the High Court again ordered police to vacate the newspaper'soffices and
to allow journalists back to work. Police finally left thepremises that day,
after the paper's staff served them with the order.

The newspaper's staff
plans to resume daily publication, but severalobstacles remain. According to
Bill Saidi, editor of the Daily News' Sundayedition, police have not
returned most of the paper's seized equipment,including computers. The ANZ
has also lost significant revenues while thepaper was closed and has accrued
large legal expenses.

In addition, the MIC and the Information Ministry
both filed applications tothe High Court this afternoon seeking a stay to
yesterday's ruling in orderto stop the paper from publishing, said Daily
News legal adviser GugulethuMoyo.

On Eyre Peninsula,
three of the men are working for Pringles Ag-Plus, alarge machinery dealer
which employs 50 people at Cleve, Wudinna and Kimba.

Pringles managing
director Rick Du Bois said the company was expandingquickly but couldn't
entice enough mechanics to move from the city to thecountry. Most of the
other Zimbabweans are working for farmers, relishinglife in country SA which
has provided a safe-haven for their families.

Sandy and Dave Segon live
in Cleve where Mr Segon works for Pringles as adiesel mechanic. After four
months in Australia, they are just content to besafe.

Migrating to
Australia also meant starting again in more ways than one withMr Segon
working as a managing director in Zimbabwe, while Mrs Segon was afinance
manager. She describes Australia as very first world compared toThird World
Zimbabwe.

"It's the public transport, freedom of speech, you can buy
bread and milkand fuel and you can get connected to the phone service
straight away," shesaid.

"And you can actually go to a bank and
withdraw cash – unlike Zimbabwe wherewe have money in the bank but can't get
it out."

Kim and Warren Alanthwaite arrived in Australia with four
suitcases and$1000 last July. Mr Alanthwaite had managed a farm at
Raffingora in Zimbabwegrowing 165ha of bananas and 100ha of
maize.

They have settled quickly and live in a farmhouse 7km out of
Wudinna, whereMr Alanthwaite now works for Pringles. Mr Alanthwaite said the
local peoplehad been generous in helping with essential household items.

JOHANNESBURG, Jan 26 (IPS) - With people still left guessing as
to whetherhe intends holding formal talks with his country's opposition,
ZimbabweanPresident Robert Mugabe added a new dimension to the drama this
weekend whenhe was allegedly rushed to South Africa after collapsing at his
home inHarare.

On Sunday the South African Broadcasting Corporation
reported that Mugabewas in South Africa, saying the duration and purpose of
the trip wasunclear. South Africa's Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to
confirm thevisit, however.

Spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa was quoted as
saying: "If President Mugabe ishere in South Africa, it stands to reason
that he would be on a privatevisit. If he was here on an official visit, we
would not hesitate to informthe public."

This is not the first time
Mugabe's health has been in the spotlight. InOctober last year there were
unconfirmed reports that that he had beensecretly flown to South Africa for
treatment after suffering either a strokeor a bad fall.

The
speculation about the Zimbabwean leader comes at the tail end of a weekof
debate about South Africa's role in helping to resolve the
politicalsituation in Zimbabwe.

On Thursday South African President
Thabo Mbeki said Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PFparty had agreed to enter into
formal talks with the opposition Movement forDemocratic Change (MDC) on
resolving Zimbabwe's long-running politicalcrisis.

"I'm happy to say
that they have agreed now that they will go into formalnegotiations. I am
saying that I am quite certain that they will negotiateand reach an
agreement," Mbeki told a joint news conference with visitingGerman
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

Mbeki's comments were echoed by Nigerian
President Olusegun Obasanjo onFriday.

But the MDC's Secretary for
Information and Publicity, Paul Themba Nyathi,told IPS that his party was
extremely sceptical about "the nature ofMugabe's commitment to a process of
dialogue".

According to Nyathi, Mugabe and ZANU-PF have - to date - taken
no steps thatwould indicate a commitment to formal dialogue for ending the
politicalproblems that have dogged the country since the start of
2000.

"There have been no approaches to the MDC whatsoever. In fact it
has beenbusiness as usual with court orders being ignored and political
violencecarrying on relentlessly," said Nyathi.

He added that if
Mugabe had given Mbeki renewed undertakings that he wasprepared to begin
negotiations, then Mugabe himself should have announcedthis to the
Zimbabwean people.

A ZANU-PF member of parliament, who asked not to be
named of fear ofharassment, told IPS that talks between government and the
opposition werenot likely to occur in the near future.

"There are no
plans within ZANU-PF to hold formal talks with the MDC. Whyshould we be
talking to them? We do not recognise them as anything - letalone an
opposition. We have no idea what Mbeki is going on about," he
said.

Didymus Mutasa, the ruling party's Secretary for Administration,
confirmedin a statement issued after Mbeki's Thursday announcement that no
talks withthe MDC were being contemplated.

In the past, Mugabe has
indicated a willingness to enter into talks with theMDC - provided the party
dropped its legal challenge to his controversialre-election in
2002.

The MDC accuses the president and his party of electoral fraud and
hasrefused to drop its court challenge. Meanwhile MDC President
MorganTsvangirai is on trial for treason following government claims that
heplotted to assassinate Mugabe and stage a coup - charges that Tsvangirai
hasdenied.

So if both parties are adamant that there is no sign of
formal talks in thehorizon, why is Mbeki insisting that discussions are
afoot? Politicalanalysts ascribe it to the fact he is coming under a great
deal of pressureto bring some resolution to the Zimbabwean crisis before the
next meeting ofthe Group of Eight (G8) industrialised countries, scheduled
to take place inthe United States in June. (The G8 includes Britain, Canada,
France,Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the U.S.) It is hoped that the
NewPartnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), a development blueprint
drawnup by African leaders, will still remain high on the G8's
agenda.

However, sources in the NEPAD secretariat told IPS that at the
last G8 heldin France, the Bush administration made it clear that unless
certain issueswere tackled - Zimbabwe being one of them - NEPAD would
receive littleattention at the U.S. meeting.

John Stremlau, Head of
International Relations at the University of theWitwatersrand in
Johannesburg, says Mbeki is in a corner. "Zimbabwe hasrepeatedly embarrassed
him. He is opposed to sanctions, he can't use force,he does not want to use
megaphone diplomacy - so what does he do now?"Whatever happens, Zimbabweans
living in South Africa are listening withbated breath to every piece of news
about Mugabe's health.

"Each time we hear that he is ill or has collapsed
we all pray that he willdie and that the suffering of the people of Zimbabwe
will stop - and we cango home," says Blessing Mutasa, a refugee trying to
eke out a living inSouth Africa.

In addition to its political
problems, Zimbabwe's economy is also incrisis - with inflation standing at
about 619.5 percent towards the end oflast year. (END/2004)

Harare - Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was
grilled duringhis treason trial on Monday on why his party hired a Canadian
politicalconsultancy to help promote its image when it had already engaged a
Britishfirm to do so.

The state had queried why the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) engagedDickens and Madison when BMSG of Britain was
already doing work for it.

Dickens and Madison of Canada is owned by Ari
Ben Menashe, the key statewitness in the case in which Tsvangirai is charged
with plotting to killPresident Robert Mugabe ahead of presidential polls in
March 2002, which theopposition leader lost.

Tsvangirai has denied
conspiring to assassinate Mugabe, saying he believesthe long-time leader has
to be involved in efforts to end the southernAfrican country's
crises.

If convicted, Tsvangirai, 51, could face the death
sentence.

Tsvangirai insisted in court Monday that a US$500 000 contract
his partysigned with Dickens and Madison was genuine, contrary to state
evidence thatit was meant to cover up a plot to kill Mugabe.

"The
contract was bona fide and genuine. We hired Dickens and Madisonbecause we
were convinced that, unlike BMSG, it had intimate knowledge ofthe Zimbabwean
political scene and was widely known in Canada and the UnitedStates," he
said.

The MDC said it had enlisted the services of the Canadian firm to
helppolish its image abroad and raise funds for the election campaign in
therun-up to the 2002 election.

THE Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe, keen to plug foreign currency leaks, hasfollowed hordes of local
safari operators, who are signing lucrative huntingdeals at the worlds
largest international hunting convention in the UnitedStates.

The
local hunting industry is expected to rake in $20 billion worth offoreign
currency in the coming hunting season.

Most of the safari operators sold
out their hunting quotas for the nexthunting season, which begins next month
during the first few days of theconvention.

RBZ compliance officers
here were closely following all deals in adevelopment that is set to close
loopholes of foreign currency leakages inthe industry.

Most safari
operators, who make lucrative deals through the sale of hunts atthe 40
000-strong Safari Club Convention (SCI) have not been remitting
theirearnings to the central bank.

RBZ officials are attending the
international hunting convention for thefirst time.

Zimbabwe has
allegedly lost a whopping 9,23 million British Pounds throughthe sale of
State land in Mwenezi by some prominent wildlife operators toforeign
nationals.

It is understood that most of the monies were lost through
purportedrepayments of offshore loans through foreign bank accounts under a
Trustusing fictitious documentation.

In one instance when it came to
light, the RBZ refused to regularise acontroversial deal in which the
Government was losing millions of dollars inforeign currency inflows through
misrepresentation and money laundering.

The central bank officers - Ms
Tariro Musonza and Ms Charity Masuka - wereconfident that the authority
would soon find a lasting solution tocurtailing foreign currency leakages,
which were mainly due to a "laxforeign currency regime" within the RBZ over
the years.

The officers described their visit to the safari hunting
convention aseye-opening.

The RBZ compliance officers visited most of
the local safari operatorsgathering information on how they had fared at the
convention andindications were that a tight foreign currency regime was
needed to improveforeign currency inflows into the country. Some of the
operators attendingthe International Hunting Convention were members of the
ZimbabweAssociation of Tour and Safari Operators and the newly-created
ZimbabweIndigenous Safari Operators Association.

Operators included
the MP for Chegutu Cde Webster Shamu and his wifeConstance Tsomondo
representing HHK Safaris Safari Marketing and Management,Harare businessmen
Mr Ed Kadzombe, Nimrod Chiminya, Emmanuel Fundira,Nuanetsis Charles Madonko,
Ben Chiganze and two recent beneficiaries ofconcessions in Hwange and
Sengwa. While the private sector was wellrepresented, the National Parks and
Wildlife Manage-ment Authority wasconspicuous by its absence.

BARCLAYS Bank of Zimbabwe has scrapped the credit
card, which enablesclients to buy goods or services on credit and pay later,
citing theunavailability of foreign currency.

The bank, which was
weaned from its parent company, Barclays Bank Limited atthe beginning of
last year, has been undergoing a major restructuring of
itsoperations.

The credit card system has been of convenience to many
clients who makepurchases on credit unlike the direct debit card where the
amount is chargedto one's account at the time of the
transaction.

"You are, no doubt, aware of the serious foreign currency
shortages whichthe country has been experiencing over the past few years.
The prevailingsituation has affected everyone and most, if not all,
businesses. Barclaysis no exception.

"Our credit card processing
system has now reached the end of its usefullife and a replacement will
require a heavy financial investment, almostentirely in foreign
currency.

"Barclays can not justify the continuous usage of the card
under the presenteconomic environment and will reluctantly withdraw credit
card facilitieswith effect from 28 February 2004," Barclays Bank officials
said last week.

It is believed that the decision to scrap the service was
taken last yearwhen the foreign currency situation in the country was
desperate.

Now that the situation has improved with the introduction of
the auctionsystem, there are some of the clients who are hopeful that the
credit cardsystem maybe retained in the future.

Barclays Bank has
been the centre of focus over the last 12 months followingrevelations that
the local entity had been temporarily suspended from theBarclays
Group.

The local entity on its part has instituted a number of measures
aimed atensuring that it remains competitive.

These include the
retrenching of 500 workers and closing of some of itsbranches across the
country.

"We realise this (the scrapping of the credit card) will
inconvenience cardholders and as an alternative strongly recommend the use
of our direct debitcard system.

"Those who meet the requirements may
be availed a facility of their currentaccount. This will enable one to
continue to making electronic purchasesfrom accredited merchants throughout
Zimbabwe in excess of their balances,"added the officials.

The use of
electronic cards has been on the increase in the countryfollowing the cash
shortages, which hit the banking sector last year.

Barclays'
restructuring exercise has led to a lot of speculation from thepublic with
some suggesting that the group would soon shut down
itsoperations.

The sentiments have been shot down with the management
insisting that theywere positioning the bank to withstand prevailing
economic challenges.

The restructuring of the bank seems to have started
paying dividends as itwas recently rated AA- by the South African Based
Global Credit Rating.

The two
authorities have already written to the Ministry of LocalGovernment, Public
Works and National Housing seeking the powers to borrow.

Harare wants to
use the money to service the miscellaneous accounts, whichincludes the
sewerage account, waste management and water purification.

It needs $10,6
billion for water purification and upgrading of watertreatment works. The
city has earmarked the rehabilitation of Crowboroughand Firle sewerage
treatment works, Mabvuku and Tafara outflow and MortonJaffray water
treatment works as some of its capital projects.

The money would settle
rate accounts such as the city's health department,education and operations
in the department of works have been allocated$28,6 billion. Norton wants to
channel most of the funds towards capitalprojects such as the construction
of water treatment works and raising ofreservoirs which is meant to
alleviate the burden of buying water fromHarare.

ZIMBABWE'S music and media industries have not been spared by
the country'sworsening economic crisis, with several journalists and
musicians joiningthe trek to the United Kingdom in search of greener
pastures.

Industry officials said the local media and music companies had
lost manyprofessionals, mostly because of declining standards of living and
the lureof better working conditions and pay in the UK.

Alleged
political persecution and demotion in the government-controlledmedia had
also forced several journalists out of the country, the
officialssaid.

Some musicians and journalists who have left Zimbabwe
took advantage ofsponsored tours and assignments that enabled them to travel
to the UK, andthey did not return to Zimbabwe.

Among those who have
joined what has become known as the "great trek" in thepast two years are
former

Sifelani, an accomplished presenter
and businessman, was arguably one of themost popular disc jockeys on radio.
He worked with both Spot FM and PowerFM, formerly Radio One and 3FM,
respectively.

Before leaving in 2001, Sifelani used to attract a wide
listenership base tohis Saturday night programme, the Soul Selection, with
his self-endowedtitle of "chief executive" of the Zimbabwe Soul
Movement.

Knight and Ezra Sibanda were very popular on Radio Zimbabwe,
formerly RadioTwo, on which their combination on Wednesdays and Saturdays
drew listenersto a once respected station.

Meanwhile, the print media
has lost Herald assistant editor Cephas Chitsakaand his subordinates Elton
Dzikiti and Archibald Musonza, who have also leftZimbabwe for the United
Kingdom.

Discharged primary school teacher-turned-journalist at the
Bulawayo-basedChronicle, Admore Tshuma, has also joined the exodus to
London.

The Weekend Tribune's former sports editor, Clemence Marijeni,
remained inthe United Kingdom in July last year at the end of a tour by the
Zimbabwenational cricket team.

Marijeni had travelled to the United
Kingdom on a sponsored trip.

On the musical front, the lure of the pound
has disrupted most groups, withthe biggest casualty being the now-defunct
promising gospel group Appointed.

The talented performers - products of
Harare's New Life Covenant Church -left the group to search for new
opportunities in London. Only group memberPardon Mutsago remained
behind.

Mutsago has risen to claim a stake in the small but vibrant urban
groovesindustry, which includes popular local musician Pastor
G.

Businesswoman-cum-musician Portia Gwanzura, financier and leader
oftraditional group Hohodza Band, flew to Luton in 2002 and
criticisedPresident Mugabe's policies in an interview with the Times
newspaper.

Gwanzura alleged persecution by government security
agents.

Rising Kwekwe musician Tongai Moyo lost key members of his band
whiletouring the UK last year.

Popular Alick Macheso has also not
been spared.

Industry officials this week said the exodus of
professionals from the mediaand the music industries was likely to continue
in the next few months,despite what the government says is an improvement in
the economy.

Zimbabweans continue to queue every day for United Kingdom
visas, despitethe high cost of airfares and the stringent visa conditions
introduced bythe British government.

Queues form at the British
Embassy in Harare as early as 4am as desperateZimbabweans battle to obtain
the few visas that are granted to some of the25 people who are attended to
daily.

The European Union is this year expected to spend
close to US $30 million tohelp improve Zimbabwe's underfunded health
delivery system.

The head of the European Commission (EC) delegation to
Zimbabwe, FrancescaMosca, said in a statement last week the money would be
taken from a US $69million fund committed to Zimbabwe for the period 2000 to
2006.

"The programme's purposes are to support people's increased access
toaffordable quality health services, mainly by ensuring the
continuedavailability of safe blood and the supply of essential drugs for
theprevention, treatment and control of HIV/AIDS and other communicable
andnon-communicable diseases," said Mosca.

She said priority areas
would be the fight against HIV/AIDS. "The EuropeanCommission sees the
HIV/AIDS epidemic in Zimbabwe as one of the biggestsocioeconomic problems
facing the country." The EC would support a nationalAIDS conference to be
held in June, and part of the money would also gotowards assisting NGOs
involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS and malaria.

The cash injection
would improve crumbling infrastructure and delapidatedequipment at the
country's hospitals. "A lot of the equipment at hospitalsand health
facilities needs repairs or replacement," said Mosca.

BULAWAYO: Archbishop Pius Ncube has revealed
that in the early 1980s, he wasvery close to President Robert Mugabe, the
man he now castigates and calls a"big African crook" .

The
archbishop, who has single-handedly turned into a symbol of
resistanceagainst Mugabe's regime, on Thursday narrated to The Standard how
hisrelationship with President Mugabe blossomed soon after Zimbabwe
gainedindependence in 1980.

"Each time Mugabe and the late Vice
President Joshua Nkomo visited Bulawayoon business, we would shake hands and
share words of wisdom.

Mugabe could also come to Bulawayo and talk to my
mother in church and attimes at rallies while in the company of the late
Vice President Nkomo buthe has turned into a big African crook. Even now I
am failing to understandhow the devil entered into Mugabe's mind, soul and
heart because he hasbecome a monster that is no longer controllable," says
Archbishop Ncube,with undisguised passion.

The archbishop who has
just recovered from a two week facial palsy, adisease that affected nerves
of his face and caused serious weaknessesmaking it difficult for the
clergyman to control his facial muscles isequally

loathed by Mugabe
who has attacked him on several occasions.

"You see young man, when
Zimbabwe gained its independence in 1980, Mugabewas undoubtedly the African
statesman everybody would have liked to meet,shake hands and perhaps have a
photograph taken with him."

"He was such an honest leader, admirable,
dynamic, caring and a crowd pullereach time his Zanu PF party organised
rallies around the country but thingsfell apart for him when he started
ignoring people's grievances," saidarchbishop Ncube.

Archbishop Ncube
says he started seeing Mugabe's dark side between 1980 andmid 1983 when he
committed the unforgettable Matabeleland genocide using thenotorious and
merciless Fifth Brigade soldiers to kill people, innocentwomen and
children.

He adds that Mugabe's evil doings are there for everyone to see
and he iseven trying to destroy the church. "Mugabe has gone around the
countrydividing the people of God by giving some church leaders the stolen
landfrom the whites while others are deliberately left out," said
Ncube.

The outspoken clergyman says very soon Mugabe will find himself
atloggerheads with his creator if he continues sanctioning lawlessness
inZimbabwe.

"God said in His Holy Bible that you shall not kill, but
Mugabe and hisCabinet continue to kill."

"The Bible further states
that you shall not steal but Mugabe's Cabinet hasstolen properties belonging
to the white farmers who were forcibly removedfrom their land, that is
breaking God's rules and commandments," he said .

He also pointed out
that the media in Zimbabwe was not operating freelybecause of the draconian
laws crafted by Mugabe's stooge-Moyo with a view todeny the nation the free
flow of information.

BULAWAYO - The credibility of the Zimbabwean schools examinations
system isonce again under the spotlight after revelations that a headmaster
and threeof his teachers in the Midlands province wrote and filled answer
sheets fordozens of Grade Seven pupils at their school in a bid to ensure a
high passrate.

The headmaster, Tinosias Mhuri (57) of Mnene Primary
School in Mberengwa andtwo teachers at his school whose names are not yet
clear have already beenarrested over the case while police say they are
still investigating theinvolvement of other teachers in the
scam.

Midlands police confirmed the arrests and said they were
widening theirinvestigations to establish whether more staff at the school
were involvedin the scandal.

Police said they have sent samples of
the papers to Harare for forensictests on the handwriting used on the answer
sheets.

"The headmaster altered and filled in new answer sheets in a bid
to ensurethat his school scored the best results in the district and
throughout thecountry but markers were suspicious after noticing the same
handwriting inall the answer scripts and they notified the police," said a
policespokesman.

Efforts to contact the ZIMSEC director, Happy
Ndanga, proved fruitless as hewas said to be attending a workshop out of
town for the whole of the week.

However in a shocking move, the Permanent
Secretary in the Ministry ofEducation and Sport, Thomson Tsodzo, last week
announced in a statement thatthe results of the more than 50 pupils at the
school would stand.

He said the pupils would not be punished for the
school's misdeeds but wouldbe allowed to proceed to Form One using the 'fake
results'.

Mash East PA embroiled in land wrangleBy Valentine
Maponga, recently in Hwedza

HWEDZA – Fresh land ownership wrangles have
erupted in Mashonaland Eastwhere the provincial administrator, Christopher
Chingosho, is being accusedof using his political clout to allocate land
under the A2 model to friendsand relatives.

The Standard has
established that Chingosho is heavily involved in a farmownership dispute
between Philemon Mambohwa and another man only referred toas Hombodo, who is
suspected to be Chingosho’s cousin and his former driver.

Mambohwa
said he was allocated the land after an audit revealed that theparticular
piece of land was not being utilised. He had since startedfarming on the
property, he said.

However last week a District Development Fund truck
drove onto the farm,known as Farm Adventure, allegedly on the instructions
of Chingosho andseized Mambohwa’s property which was later dumped at Hwedza
Police Station.The property included several drums of diesel and farming
equipment.

An Assistant Inspector Chitsanzara told Mambohwa, who reported
the case toHwedza police in the presence of Standard journalists, that he
should “cooldown” as the case involved big guys and money.

“I feel
very sorry for you but there is no way I can help you. I can onlydirect you
to Colonel Mangachena, who is responsible for the land taskforce, set up by
the President himself. This is a civil matter and we do notdeal with such
issues,” said Chitsanzira.

A disappointed Mambohwa told The Standard that
he was being “sacrificed” forthe benefit of Chingosho’s relative.

“I
have an offer letter from the Ministry of Lands and I have every right tobe
staying on this farm. I really do not understand the meaning of this,”said
an angry Mambohwa.

“It’s quite evident that the police officers have
succumbed to pressure fromthe PA and they have refused to open a docket for
my seized property,” headded.

Contacted for comment, Chingosho in
turn accused Mambohwa of takingadvantage of Hombodo’s poor health and
invading the farm.

“The correct information is that Hombodo is not my
cousin and the point hereis not whose relative it is but who was allocated
that land through thecorrect procedures,” said Chingosho.

“The person
who was allocated that land is Hombodo and unfortunately hesuffered a stroke
after he was allocated that piece of land. He was inhospital for the whole
of last year.”

He, however, did not dispute that Hombodo was once his
driver.

He dismissed allegations that he was engaging in corrupt dealings
and deniedever taking money from anyone in exchange for
land.

Meanwhile farmers around the area have resolved to march to
Chingosho’soffices in Marondera to demonstrate against interference by
politicalheavyweights in the allocation of land.

“We should not allow
such practices to happen on our farms. Who knows itmight be you or me the
next victim ,” said one farmer at a meeting in thearea last week.

BULAWAYO A Bulawayo war veterans' leader who allegedly led some
Zanu PFyouths to torch a house belonging to an MDC female activist during
therun-up to the March 2002 presidential election, is now facing
seriouscharges of arson.

On Thursday, Lucky Ndlovu (55), appeared
before Bulawayo's Western CommonageMagistrate Jeniffer Chikata together with
some of the youths who also tookpart in burning down Regina Ndlovu's
house.

Prosecutor Tony Kamudyariwa, for the State, said on March 3
last year, theaccused war veterans and some Zanu PF youths clashed with
supporters of theopposition MDC in Pumula and a fight ensued.

During
the fight, it is alleged, some rogue Zanu PF supporters led by Ndlovuthe war
veteran went and burnt down Regina Ndlovu's house and destroyedproperty
worth millions of dollars.

AT 79 years of age, Bishop Abel Tendekayi Muzorewa - the
first black PrimeMinister of the ill-fated 1970s government of
Zimbabwe-Rhodesia - stilllooks sprightly and energetic.

When many of
his generation are fast succumbing to the vagaries of old age,Muzorewa says
the trick of his youthful appearance is that he "abstains fromimmorality"
and eats healthy traditional foods as well as doing regularphysical
exercises.

Such is now the life of Muzorewa, who has virtually
disappeared from publiclife, and is living quietly at his elegant house in
the outskirts of theupmarket Borrowdale Brook suburb of Harare.

"All
I can say is I make sure I abstain from mbanje, alcohol, tobacco andall the
dirty and immoral ways of living," says the clean-shaven retiredbishop of
the United Methodist Church of Zimbabwe, with a chortle.

Notwithstanding
his age, the bespectacled bishop says he still takes brisk30-minute walks
every morning. For food, he prefers to eat rapoko, wheat,sour milk and
vegetables. "I make sure I eat the right food and if I am touse bread I
prefer brown bread," he says.

Muzorewa says it is purely by design that
he is keeping himself out ofpublic life, which occupied most of his time
during his tenure as apolitician.

"Now, I am the patron of the
Araunah Mission Fellowship of Zimbabwe (AMFZ)and I'm also working on a new
book on evangelism," said Muzorewa, seatednext to his extensive collection
of mostly religious books.

Married to Maggie, currently in America
visiting, Muzorewa says although hehas retired from being a bishop he has
not ceased to function as a churchleader.

"Last year alone I
conducted 17 weddings and I still attend revivalmeetings," he
said.

During his spare time, he visits his home area in Makoni district
inManicaland, where he tends a vegetable garden and fruit orchard. Apart
fromthat, he said he also goes fishing to relax.

A father of three
sons and a daughter, Muzorewa says he abandoned politicsin Zimbabwe because
it is "dirty".

"There is a time for everything and my time had come to
retire frompolitics. Politics in Zimbabwe has lost direction, it's now based
onviolence. I'm not the kind of person who can create another violent group
tofight the one that's there," said Muzorewa.

Commenting on the
on-going treason trial of opposition MDC leader, MorganTsvangirai, the
nationalist who turns 79 on April 14, had this to say: "Ihope it's not one
of those political dirty tricks. I was once detained for10 months in 1983 on
allegations that I had an army in Israel, South Africaand others
countries.

"Another victim was Ndabaningi Sithole who was accused of
trying to kill thePresident at the National Stadium, it's all rubbish," said
Muzorewa.

Ironically, Muzorewa is accused by former liberation movements
ofinvolvement in the massacres of thousands of Zimbabwean war refugees
atChimoio and Nyadzonya in the late 1979 during his reign.

A day
after one of the raids, Muzorewa - the head of the government runningthe
pre-independence administration of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia - is accused ashaving
celebrated the massacres by declaring that: "Today is a fine
day."

Reminded of the gruesome murder of the Zimbabwean refugees in
Mozambique,Muzorewa became restless and agitated.

"You should know by
now that when these people were attacked, it was at atime before I was made
Prime Minister," he said.

As if regretting the Chimoio/Nyadzonya
massacres, Muzorewa then blurts outthat he never wanted to become a
politician in the first place. "All mylife, I prepared to be a church
leader. It was all the senior nationalistswho were locked up who wanted my
assistance."

When elected Prime Minister of the then Zimbabwe-Rhodesia in
1979, Muzorewasurprised many when he made his grand entry into the State
House riding on adonkey-drawn cart "with all his belongings".

"I was
trying to make history after so many years of war. I could have useda car
but I wanted it the traditional way," he says.

Despite his absence from
public life, Muzorewa says he still follows currentevents
diligently.

An ardent Warriors fan, the former prime minister said he
will be hooked onTV as the Zimbabwe national soccer team makes its dream
debut at the AfricanNations' Cup later today. "I wish them success," he
says.

THE Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe is compromising the
security of theskies over Zimbabwe by hiring Zambian air traffic controllers
whose know-howmay now be rusty having been out of employment for a long
time, The Standardhas learnt.

The five Zambian aviation "experts"
were recruited to fill in the void leftby 43 Zimbabwean air traffic
controllers who went on an indefinite jobaction on November 21 last year
over poor salaries. They have since beendismissed.

The Standard
was recently told that all five Zambians had left activeservice more than a
year ago, making them unfit to practice withoutundertaking certain
procedures, according to aviation regulations.

The regulations stipulate
that if an air traffic controller is at least sixmonths away from work, he
has to undergo a medical test and a six-monthvalidation period before he or
she can resume operations.

Sources from the Guild of Air Traffic
Controllers Association of Zambia(GATCAZ), told The Standard that Zambian
authorities had refused to assistZimbabwe on a "State-to-State" basis for
the air traffic controllers to behired.

"We (Zambians), refused to
help the Zimbabweans this time around because itgot us in trouble when we
loaned them some air traffic controllers afteranother strike in 1998," said
a Zambian official.

"GATCAZ was actually banned from the International
Air Traffic Controllers'Association from 1998 to 2003 because we had
assisted Zimbabwe instead ofshowing solidarity with Zimbabwean colleagues
who were on strike," he added.

The official said GATCAZ president Ben
Shumba, who is based in Livingstone,had raised this issue with
Zimbabwe.

"The so-called Zambian experts your government has hired are
old men whohave been out of service for over a year, some had retired to
their ruralhomes where they had no links with air travel," said the
Zambian.

The Standard has learnt that soon after the air traffic
controllers went onstrike in November, CAAZ deputy director David Chawota
approached one SamsonKavaso, a retired manager for the Zambian Air Traffic
Services, who wentaround recruiting former air traffic controllers to work
in Zimbabwe.

Among the recruits is one Chielo, believed to be about 60
years old, whospoke to The Standard from a local hotel where he is booked by
CAAZ.

Although Chielo refused to shed light on his conditions of
employment, healluded to the fact that that he is in Zimbabwe on CAAZ
account and referredall questions to Ezra Mazambara, CAAZ acting director of
air navigationservices.

Mazambara in turn referred all questions to
CAAZ chief, Karikoga Kaseke, whocontrary to Chielo's account, said the
Zambians' contracts had beenterminated.

"You lied in your previous
article," Kaseke charged. "Hazvina basa zvekutivave ne time vasiri pabasa
(It doesn't matter if the air traffic controllershave not been working for
some time) Š they can still perform theirfunctions," said Karikoga. He
added: "A car driver can still drive evenafter a long lay-off, can't
he?"

Kaseke said the department was actually now "overstaffed" because it
hadrehired some of the dismissed Zimbabwean air traffic controllers who
hadbeen joined by others from the Air Force.

Investigations on Friday
revealed that most of the Zambian air trafficcontrollers are still in the
country and staying at a city hotel, althoughthey have stopped reporting for
duty. Their accommodation at the hotel isbeing paid for by CAAZ.

GWERU - Three armed robbers got away with $77 million in local
and foreigncurrency after they struck at the Gweru branch of Western Union,
a moneytransfer institution recently.

Police confirmed the robbery
and said this was the second time in recentweeks that Western Union has been
robbed.

In early January, the institution's Bulawayo branch was
robbed of more thanUS$160 000 and Z$10 million after one of the workers was
kidnapped at nightfrom his home in Pumula and forced to phone for the office
keys from aworkmate.

On the Gweru heist, police said the robbers -
who pretended to be genuineclients - struck at around 10 AM on Thursday and
took away US$14 077 (aboutZ$68 million) and $7,8 million in local
currency.

One of the robbers produced a pistol while his colleagues
handcuffed thesecurity guard and the cashier before blindfolding them, said
the police.

The robbers took all the cash from the till before demanding
keys to thesafe and fled with a total $77 million. The guard and the cashier
were foundlocked in the office.

ROADS around State House have become "no go areas" as soldiers, who
guardPresident Robert Mugabe's residence, harass pedestrians for no
apparentreason, The Standard was told.

Chancellor Avenue is closed
between 6.00pm and 6.00am to traffic at theintersection of Josiah Tongogara
Avenue and is heavily guarded by the crackPresidential Guard
unit.

Pedestrians who spoke to The Standard on condition of anonymity
expressedserious concern about the behaviour of the soldiers, who they said
weresometimes cruel and ruthless when dealing with both motorists
andpedestrians.

Patrons and some workers at the nearby Harare Sports
Club say they aresometimes ordered to perform humiliating stunts for the
amusement of thesoldiers.

Recently a couple, walking hand in hand,
was called back by a soldier andordered to race to and fro along the
pedestrian track.

They were only allowed to continue with their journey
once the soldier saidhe was satisfied with their performance.

A
manager at one of the bars at the sports club said some workers werestopped
by one of the guards, around Christmas, and accused of "making noisefor the
President".

They were ordered to sit in the rain for about four hours,
only to be toldto go home after the soldier apparently got bored with their
presence.

Another man, who had just came out of the sports club, was
reportedly madeto roll in the mud after he was found trying to call a taxi
on his mobilephone.

"He was trying to call a taxi on his mobile phone
and was strolling aroundjust outside Harare Sports club when one of the
soldiers called him andordered him to roll in the mud, accusing him of
loitering," an eyewitnesstold The Standard .

Workers at the popular
Keg and Sable bar at the sports club have not beenspared the
harassment.

One of the workers, who declined to named, said he went
"through hell" lastyear during the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
stayaway.

"I was called by one of the guys (soldiers) and they accused me
of helpingto sabotage the economy because they said I work for the whites,"
said theworker.

A domestic worker from Alexandra Park, who passes
through the place almosteveryday, said: "The soldiers are becoming very
rude. It all depends ontheir mood Š if they feel you are showing off, they
humiliate you."

Towards the end of last year, sources said, a car caught
fire in the middleof the road near State House and the owner was forbidden
from putting offthe fire. Instead, he had to watch the entire vehicle burn
to ashes.

Some people alleged that they had suffered sexual harassment
and abuse bythe soldiers. They said the soldiers sometimes demanded that
their victimsmasturbate in their presence.

Contacted for comment an
official from the Presidential Guard who refused togive his name defended
the actions of the guards saying it was part of theirduty to protect the
President "by whatever means possible".

"If they (the guards) become
suspicious of your movements they have everyright to deal with you
accordingly and that is the whole process ofprotecting the President."

BULAWAYO - THE World Bank and the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) areincreasingly becoming impatient with Zimbabwe's failure to service
its debtpayments now hovering around US$1 billion, it has been
established.

In an interview here on Wednesday, World Bank head for
Africa, TimCarrington, said Zimbabwe has a debt amounting to US$946,5
million whichneeded immediate clearance before the Bretton Wood institution
could startcommitting itself to assisting the country towards economic
recovery.

"For the World Bank to provide new assistance to deal with
the country'seconomic problems, Zimbabwe will need to reach an agreement
with theinternational bank on its debt payment, as well as on a sound
economicprogramme for the future," said Carrington.

"Right now, much
of the long-term development effort from the World Bank ison hold because
the government of Zimbabwe is in arrears in making debtservice payments on
the outstanding loans from the bank," he said.

Carrington said Zimbabwe
was a powerful economic emerging giant in Africabut due to poor fiscal and
land reform policies, the southern African nationcrumbled
heavily.

Zimbabwe, which used to be the breadbasket for Southern Africa,
has beenfailing to allocate proper agricultural skills in order to provide
food forits starving citizens and the region at large, said the WB
official.

"A few years ago, Zimbabwe was selling up to 500 000 metric
tonnes ofsurplus food to the United Nations World Food Program to distribute
tohungry people in other countries, but right now the country needs
moreassistance than any in SADC region," said Carrington.

He said
humanitarian agencies were gearing up to feed more than half thecountry's
population owing to the food shortages.

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Project
Trust Emergency Support Programme (ZPTESP)in Matabeleland region, an NGO
involved in the food relief and supplementaryfeeding scheme says it is
providing food to more than 30 000 families permonth with emergency food
aid.

According to the NGO's regional co-ordinator, Lucia Ndlovu, her
organisationprovides nutrimeal, cooking oil, beans and maize meal to
children under theage of five, adults and those that under vulnerable
situations.

THIS may seem obvious that it hardly needs saying. But
against thebackground of events that have shattered our lives, it must be
said all thesame. Judges are the guardians of our Constitution.

Every
judge on his or her appointment discards all politics and allprejudices.
They must apply the law on proven facts and on the basis ofpropaganda-free
information and, equally important, jealously guard theliberty and rights of
all citizens. After all, Section 20 of ourConstitution does guarantee
freedom of expression.

We have no doubt that magistrates and judges
are invariably determined to doright to litigants within the framework of
both the law and the supreme lawof our country. Anything less will be a
recipe for disaster.

There is a clear distinction between national
interest and a political partythat has formed a government. Governments come
and go. At some stage, peopleexpire. But the nation of Zimbabwe will always
be there. Precisely becausegovernments come and go, it is important to have
checks and balances, tohave separation of powers between the government,
parliament, the judiciaryand the media.

Among the natural human urges
are the will to survive and the will toexpress oneself. The fight of The
Daily News and the struggles of theZimbabwean civil society to preserve
democratic governance in the countrymust be understood in this context.
After all, the liberty of selfexpression and that of the media is the basis
of all democratic governmentsthe world over.

The fight of The Daily
News has been a credit to Zimbabwe and the entireworld and has done much to
strengthen the conviction that freedom does notcome on a silver platter. We
have to push and push and push. In fact,experience has shown through history
that you have to struggle and notrelent for these things. The work of the
liberation movements in southernAfrica attests to this. Freedom and
democracy triumphed in the region as aresult of efforts of these
independence movements.

It is sad, distressful and ironic that in
Zimbabwe the very people whofought for these rights should now be reversing
the gains of their efforts.We fought to enlarge and expand freedoms
including press freedom. PresidentRobert Mugabe and many of his generation
were very up-front about this. Theyfought for the values of free minds, free
speech and free choice. What hasnow gone wrong?

It is not in the long
term interest of the government to suppress freespeech. In fact, we know of
no government in the world which has benefitedfrom banning newspapers and
gagging the media. The futile attempts of IanSmith on this front provides a
salutary lesson. Banning newspapers andmonopolising both radio and
television in Smith's Rhodesia was ultimatelycounter-productive. Zimbabweans
were resolute and remained in the very fronttrenches of this battle for
freedom until victory.

There can no longer be any doubt that the
suppression of the press and freeexpression does not strengthen political
and economic structures nor does itcreate a sense of cohesion among the
people. It leads to unnecessaryconflicts as well as eroding creative
potential.

This is an information age. We strongly believe that the more
choices andinformation people have, the better off things will be. It is not
onlyhealthy for the government and the general public but also healthy
forjournalists. We wouldn't be in this business if we didn't believe that
moreinformation and more opinions will eventually lead to more
truth.

You have only to see the conglomeration of lies that are peddled
in thegovernment-owned media to appreciate what we are saying.

We
live and die by ideas. When ideas compete in the market place foracceptance,
full and free discussion exposes false information and they gainvery few
adherents - if at all. And the courts are there to ensure this.

That is
why under the draconian Access to Information and Protection ofPrivacy Act
(Aippa) no single journalist to date has been convicted althoughmany have
been arrested and charged. Journalists are seekers of the truth sothat
governments are accountable to the citizenry. The inevitable tensionbetween
the media and the government is part and parcel of a
democraticState.

We have said in and out of season that any law must
be demonstrably andreasonably justified in a democratic society. Aippa is
not and will neverbe. Not to mention the fact that Aippa itself is worded in
a confusing wayand provides grounds for misunderstanding and different
interpretations. Thefact that no single journalist in Zimbabwe has been
convicted under thiscomically-named Act means that journalists and judicial
officers areinter-dependent partners in the defence of the independence of
theirprofessions and the freedoms of the society as a whole. And this is as
itshould be.

It is improbable that people can have the same opinions
in any givensituation or organisation. Where this happens, then such an
organisation hasto be dissolved because it is sterile and useless. Growth
comes fromopposing each other.

We remain convinced about the
Zimbabwean judges' capacity for common senseand their determination to do
justice to litigants. Because they believe inthe value of information, we
think they will continue, like us, to celebratethe plurality of information
sources that has become the hallmark of thisage.

We have absolutely
no doubt that magistrates and judges in this countrywill, despite the
immense political pressure, continue to push for an opensystem that allows a
diversity of voices to be heard.

As Rev Martin Luther King Jr eloquently
said: "There is nothing in all theworld greater than freedom. It is worth
paying for, it is worth losing a jobfor, it is worth going to jail for."

THE pervading storm in the banking sector has exposed as
misconstrued theconcept of President Robert Mugabe's fast track
indigenisation programmelaunched with much fanfare by the government in the
early 1990s.

Economic analysts told StandardBusiness that the recent
knock on financialinstitutions has put a dent on the black economic
empowerment drive that sawa number of youthful Zimbabwean executives
venturing into the financialsector, which was previously a preserve of large
multinationals andforeigners.

Prior to the entry of the
indigenous players, foreign-owned banks such asBarclays, Standard Chartered
and Stanbic Bank, dominated the local financialmarkets.

However, the
advent of the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP)in 1991 brought
with it economic liberalisation.

Economic liberalisa-tion coincided with
the government's indige-nisationdrive that gathered momentum in the early
1990s resulting in the crafting ofthe Economic Indigenisation Policy which
became the national policy forsocio-economic development.

It was
formulated to achieve poverty eradication, nation building anddevelo-pment
of a democratic social system. Accor-ding to the policy,economic
indigenisation referred to the economic empowerment of thehistorically
disadvantaged Zimbabweans.

However, recent events in the banking sector -
once the torch bearer ofindigenisation - have resulted in the indigenisation
drive losing itsmomentum.

Analysts said Zimba-bwe's home grown
indigenisation plan was flawed in thebeginning because it benefited mostly
only those with close linkages to theruling Zanu PF party or related to
powerful members of the government.

It was during the black economic
empowerment drive that a number offinancial institutions sprang up among
them National Merchant Bank thenheaded by William Nyemba, who later left in
a huff to set up Trust Holdings,after alleged differences with fellow
directors.

Kingdom Financial Holdings headed by Nigel Chanakira,
Metropolitan Bankspearheaded by Enoch Kamushinda, Century Holdings fronted
by Jefta Mgweni,Barbican headed by Mthuli Ncube, NMB Holdings now led by
Julius Makoni andIntermarket Holdings driven by Nicholas Vingirai, were some
of the morevisible institutions that began to challenge the status quo in
the financialsector.

Not far behind were a coterie of other financial
institutions, including thenow discredited asset management companies that
were being launched by theday, and discount houses and building
societies.

"The so-called progress in the banking sector was really one
massive fraudbecause it was only led by a few individuals with questionable
intentions,"said an analyst.

"The problems unfolding in the financial
sector expose the faulty nature ofthe indigenisation process based on
patronage," said the labour union ZCTU'sChief Economist Godfrey
Kanyenze.

Some analysts pointed out that the recent ENG saga, involving
the collapsedasset ma-nagement company, was nothing new to
Zimbabwe.

In the mid-to-late 1990s, the financial sector was rockaed by
the thenunprecedented collapse of Access to Capital, a huge pyramid scheme
whosedemise exposed a number of banks, companies and
individuals.

"What is happening with ENG is a mirror image of what we saw
with Access ToCapital," said Erich Bloch, a Bulawayo-based economic
consultant.

Among the banks that went under because of poor management
were UnitedMerchant Bank (UMB), championed by the late business tycoon Roger
Boka andUniversal Merchant Bank (Unibank) in which Zanu PF legislator David
Chapfikawas a director.

There were also reports of misma-nagement and
cooked books at the ZimbabweBuilding Society which was later rescued by the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwewhich currently holds the lion's share in the turned
around institution.

Only last year First National Building Society (FNBS)
had two of itsdirectors arrested for allegedly misappropriating depositors'
funds.

Two weeks ago the RBZ was forced to set up a Troubled Banks Fund
to levelthe financial sector playing field after the black smaller banks
complainedthat the larger institutions were refusing to honour their
cheques.

This followed a liquidity crunch that befell nearly half of the
country'scommercial banks soon after the unveiling of RBZ Governor Gideon
Gono'smonetary policy that, among others, tightened money
supply.

Among those that have benefited from the RBZ bailout is Trust,
but this timewithout Nyemba and fellow founding directors.

Some
analysts said the "earthquake" in the banking sector was bound to befelt,
with or without Gono's, given the government's refusal to allow theRBZ in
the past to pounce on suspect institutions that, on the other hand,belonged
to individuals popular in Zanu PF.

"Government was completely deaf to
what the RBZ pointed out. It was notwilling to give the central bank the
authority to monitor and keeporganisations under surveillance for years. It
was only in December whenthat authority came - albeit too late," said one
analyist.

"We were much too lax in the financial control," said Bloch.
"Licences weretoo easily granted without real evaluation to the suitability
of thepeoples' asset base."

To bolster the argument that the
government's indegi-nisation policy, meantto benefit the majority black
citizens was a failure, the ZCTU says thenumber of impoverished Zimba-bweans
has grown to levels of above 85% of thepopulation in the last few
years.

"It points to some of the weaknesses in the way indigenisation
wasimplemented," said Rob Davies, a former University of Zimbabwe
economicslecturer.

"Businesses that are not on a sound footing are
not going to survive. Youhave to build these firms on a firm foundation,"
added Davies.

Of late there has been sizeable trade in a number of
companies, some listedon the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE), in which
eyebrows have been raisedwith regard to their recent take-overs and
acquisitions.

One banker who requested anonymity argued that though the
financial sector'souter skin is peeling off now that some banks have tried
to raise somestandards in the sector.

"It is a learning experience
that we have gone through," he said. "We wererunning a casino economy where
people make money overnight without receiptsand this is not sustainable for
development as it leaves the poor morevulnerable," says Jonah Gokova, the
Chairman of the Zimbabwe Coalition onDebt and Development
(Zimcodd).

A recent study on indigenisation found that there was no
national consensuson the concept of indigenisation. It noted that the lack
of nationalconsensus presented a problem at the impleme-ntation
stage.

In view of the lack of consensus on indigenisation, conside-ration
might begiven to entitling the Indigenisa-tion Policy, the National Policy
forAccelerated Development, urged the report.

Analysts pointed out
the government, though, does not seem to have learnt alesson at all from its
exposure by the fallout in the banking sector.

It recently again, as some
form of "thank you", allowed black businessmenclose to the ruling party to
snap up oil importation licences withoutproperly vetting them.

Many
multinational oil companies - among them BP Shell, Mobil, Caltex andTotal -
have been disposing of some of their assets, particula-rly fillingstations
citing viability problems.

But experts noted the government's inte-ntion
to include more indigenousfirms in fuel distribution was again carried out
on patronage lines becausemost of the new owners of the fuel stations have
relations or ties with ZanuPF.

Another expert said the fallout in the
banking sector could actually proveto be "a blessing in
disguise".

"We can't support so many banks when there is less business
because theeconomy is not growing. We have learnt our lesson and I hope we
won't letthat happen again," he said.

THE ruling Zanu PF party's talk and hype about stamping out
corruption inZimbabwe is just "a puff in the wind" meant to hoodwink
gullible voters asthe country prepares for next year's general elections,
analysts have said.

The analysts, who spoke to The Standard, expressed
scepticism about ZanuPF's commitment to weed out corruption and also
questioned the timing of theanti-corruption drive.

Zimbabwe holds
parliamentary elections early next year and the ruling ZanuPF party is
expected to face stiff competition from the opposition Movementfor
Democratic Change (MDC).

The anti-corruption drive, which started with
the highly publicised arrestof ENG Capital Asset Management directors,
culminated in the subsequentincarceration of disgraced Zanu PF Mashonaland
West provincial chairman,Philip Chiyangwa.

The high-profile
busi-nessman, who is out on bail facing charges of tryingto obstruct the
course of justice, contempt of court and perjury, isbelieved to be linked to
the collapsed asset management firm.

Vice-President Jose-ph Msika's
utterances, which were reiterated byPresident Robert Mugabe, that law
enforcement agents must bring to bookcorrupt officials regardless of
political standing or affiliation,precipitated Chiyangwa's sensational
arrest.

University of Zimbabwe political analyst, Brian Raftopolous, says
hebelieves the arrest of Chiyangwa and the hype about weeding out
corruptionis cosmetic.

He said Zanu PF was trying to present an image
of "a reformed party" in theeyes of the voters as the clock ticks towards
the 2005 general elections.

"This attack on corruption will be limited;
it will not be comprehensive. Iknow it will stop before it reaches high
levels," said Raftopolous, who isalso the chairman of Crisis Zimbabwe, a
coalition of human rights bodies.

To enforce his "reformed party theory",
Mugabe might arrest a few more ZanuPF officials including junior ministers,
said Raftopoulos, a lecturer at theUniversity of Zimbabwe.

That way,
he added, voters and even the international community would behoodwinked
into thinking that the 79-year-old President has changed "hispolitical
spots".

In the 2000 parliamentary and 2002 presidential elections, Zanu
PF used thecontroversial land redistribution exercise to lure voters to its
sideagainst the MDC.

Coupled with intimidation and outright violence,
Mugabe's partycontroversially won both elections. MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai ischallenging the result of the presidential poll in
court.

However, keeping the momentum of the anti-corruption drive until
the nextyear could prove cumbersome for Zanu PF, say analysts.

In the
process, the anti-corruption drive might implicate the "wrong people"and the
exercise would definitely crumble.

Lovemore Madhuku, the chairman of the
National Constitutional Assembly(NCA), is also convinced that Mugabe will
soon abandon the crusade againstcorruption among the ruling party ranks, as
it is certain to implicate"untouchables" within the party.

He says
the Chiyangwa saga was designed to create a false impression thatZanu PF was
now prepared to deal with graft.

"It is never meant to undermine the
party but designed to create a falseimpression that Zanu PF is capable of
dealing with corruption.

"It is meant to cheat gullible voters as we
heard towards elections," saidMadhuku.

Put to Zanu PF spokesperson,
Nathan Shamuyarira, that critics are saying thearrest of Chiyangwa was
"cosmetic", the politician fumed: "You guys arealways hammering us and yet
expect us to give you information.

"We take all necessary measures to
stamp out corruption but don't need thatto be written by The Standard," said
Shamuyarira, before hanging up thephone.

But Madhuku said if Mugabe
was committed to eliminating corruption, heshould have started by
investigating senior party members including Speakerof Parliament, Emmerson
Mnangagwa, who has been linked by a UN report to thelooting of diamonds in
the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC).

"If he starts investigating real big
names then we can start talking. Don'tbe fooled by these cosmetic arrests,"
said Madhuku. The investigation orarrest of senior Zanu PF politicians is
the last thing Mugabe would want todo as that would lead to the
disintegration of his party, said anotheranalyst.

No senior Zanu PF
official has been convicted of a crime since independence,although some
arrests have been made.

The only notable arrest was that of former
Minister of Agriculture, KumbiraiKangai, while former Minister Public Works
and National Housing, EnosChikowore and Mugabe's wife, Grace, were
implicated in the "pay for yourhouse" housing scam.

Another analyst
said it was surprising that Zanu PF had chosen to sacrificeChiyangwa when
there was a host of other corrupt officials, not only in theparty, but
countrywide.

"We know Zanu PF is corrupt to the core but dragging a
hapless Chiyangwa tothe courts to me raises eyebrows," said the analyst, who
declined to benamed.

But Raftopoulos cou-ntered: "Chiyangwa presented
himself because he wasarrogant and bragged in court."

A Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) official said in the case of theENG
directors and Chiyangwa, police intervention was unavoidable because itwould
have dragged the whole financial sector into a mess, and ultimatelylead to
the collapse of the economy.

"However, it remains to be seen whether it
will lead to prosecution andconviction.

"What we need is an
independent anti-corruption commission which can followthese cases through,"
said ZCTU deputy secretary-general, Collin Gwiyo.

The national
anti-corruption watchdog, Transparency International Zimbabwe(TIZ), has also
been advocating for an independent anti-corruptioncommission.

REMNANTS of protagonists of Zanu PF's terror campaign during the
2002presidential election continue to cause havoc in some parts of the
countrywith impunity two years on, The Standard has found.

Residents
of Highfield in Harare said a new terror group, with suspectedlinks to the
dreaded Mbare-based Chipangano, has emerged in the politicallyvolatile
suburb.

The group, fast gaining notoriety in the area, and also
calling itselfChipangano, beats up and harasses people forcing them to
attend Zanu PFconstituency meetings. The group is believed to derive its
name from theChipangano of Mbare and efforts to establish whether they are
related or itis in fact the same group were unsuccessful.

Several
people who spoke to The Standard last week complained that gangs
ofunemployed youths, who sing revolutionary songs while toyi-toying in
thesuburb at night, force residents to abandon their domestic chores to
attendthe local Zanu PF meetings.

"We live in constant fear of these
guys. They harass people in broaddaylight and nothing happens to them. We
initially thought it was because ofelections but even now, they are still
harassing us," said a street vendor,who requested anonymity.

At
times, he said, the youths even confiscated vendors' wares.

However,
another resident of Highfield's Canaan area, believes the group isusing its
Zanu PF ties to perpetrate criminal activities for ulteriormotives such as
thieving.

"I think these youths are just criminals taking advantage of
their linkswith Zanu PF during the elections. When they are not calling for
meetings,they take advantage of other gatherings to instil fear in people to
enablethem to steal," said the resident.

Some analysts contend that
Zanu PF created the notorious groups as part ofits bid to coerce the urban
electorate to vote for it. Among these dreadedvigilante groups is the
notorious Mbare-based Chipangano and the even moresinister "Top Six" in
Mashonaland West.

Members of the two groups have been implicated in a
number of cases duringwhich supporters of the opposition parties, especially
from the Movement forDemocratic Change (MDC) are intimidated, brutally
beaten up or even killed.

Recently, five MDC officials from Mutare were
attacked at Mbare Musika bysuspected Chipangano elements after they had
attended the party's nationalconference held in Harare in
December.

The five were fished out of a bus and subjected to thorough
beatings beforebeing taken to Mbare Police Station. Despite being the
victims, they wereinstead charged with inciting political
violence.

"What is worrying is the unwillingness of the police to bring
the Zanu PFcriminals to book. They shamelessly arrest innocent people
leaving criminalsto go scot-free," said MDC information officer, Maxwell
Zimuto.

"As we speak now, no single person has been arrested in spite of
the factthat the incident happened right under the noses of police officers
and theperpetrators are well known criminals," added Zimuto.

There
are real fears that as the 2005 parliamentary elections approach, theterror
groups will intensify their savage campaign of terror againstinnocent
people.

Police spokesperson, Wayne Bvudzijena, while admitting that he
had heardabout the terror caused by such vigilante groups, said noone had
madecomplaints to the police.

"We deal with crime pertaining to all
people. No one has so far raisedcomplaints about them. We don't apply the
law selectively," said Bvudzijena.

Added to the list of Zanu PF-aligned
terror, are the dreaded BorderGezi-trained "Green Bombers", whom the
governing party allegedly uses toquash any form of opposition
resistance.

Although the national youth service was launched ostensibly
to educateyouths about Zimbabwe's history and instil discipline, analysts
say Zanu PFhas hijacked the programme and uses the youths to consolidate and
perpetuateits stay in power.

MDC director of elections, Remius
Makuwaza, said of the vigilantes:

"These are remnants of Zanu PF's
electoral fraud project and it has createda generation of delinquent and
lawless youths."

Makuwaza said it had become apparent that the
urban-based terror groupssometimes worked "hand in hand with Green
Bombers".

"The Green Bombers are transferred from place to place in the
country toavoid identification. We have information that they have already
beendeployed in Gutu," said Makuwaza.

Zanu PF's Josiah Tungamirai is
battling it out with MDC's Casper Musoni forthe Gutu North constituency seat
left vacant following the death ofVice-President Simon Muzenda.

In
Mashonaland West, the "Top Six", which caused terror during thepresidential
election, is believed to be linked to senior governing partypoliticians in
the province. In some cases, it is alleged that some Zanu PFofficials hire
individual members of the vigilante groups as
personalbodyguards.

Last week, The Herald, reported that former Zanu
PF legislator andbusinesswoman, Nyasha Chikwinya, had hired the notorious
Chipangano gangfrom Mbare for her protection at a meeting where she was
accused ofembezzling low cost housing funds.

Bob is my pal WHAT a charmer! Many satellite viewers who saw
Uncle Bob'sextremely wealth friend Nicholas van Hoogstraten on Monday during
TimSabastian's hot BBC show - Hard Talk - will agree that the
billionairelandowner actually gave a good account of himself.

Pitted
against the acerbic Sabastian, whose aggressive type of interviewinghas made
some of the world's toughest operators almost whimper on TV, theurbane Van
Hoogstraten answered each and every question, sometimes with asecret smile
on his face, as if he and him alone was privy to some
hiddenjoke.

On Uncle Bob - Van Hoogstraten, who admitted to
owning huge tracts of landin Zimbabwe - said the Zimbabwean leader "was 100
percent decent and 100percent incorruptible", which must be sweet music to
the Zanu PF leader'sadmirers.

He admitted that he was a friend of
Uncle Bob and was also close to the lateVice President Simon
Muzenda.

Then he went a bit overboard. What about the stories of torture
and humanrights abuses that Mugabe is being accused of?

"This is all
nonsense. It's absolutely rubbish," said the British landowner,visibly
showing some bit of discomfiture.

Job Sikhala, where are you?

Van
Hoogstraten, who has been accused by the British media of publiclycalling
some of the tenants on his properties "scumbags", said the bad
pressassociated with him and Uncle Bob was the result of a "media
backlash".

"If you didn't have me, you will have invented me, wouldn't
you," said thecharmer, that secret smile pasted on the face.

But, he
was to save the best for last.

White Zimbabwean farmers complaining that
Uncle Bob expropriated theirproperties to give to blacks had it coming, he
said.

Most of them farmed on only 300 acres of their 2000-acre farms. The
rest - 1700 acres of productive farmland - "were for exercising their dogs",
saidthe billionaire landowner whose murder conviction in London of a
bitterrival was recently quashed by a higher court.

Monkey
business

TALKING of eccentric billionaires, our very own Philip Chiyangwa
- who isfresh from remand prison and cruising around in his posh metallic
silver BMW745i - must agree that this really is the year of the monkey, what
with allthe monkey business going on.

According to the Chinese, 2004
is the Chinese Year of the Monkey and allsorts of monkey business is
supposed to happen during this year.

Chinese soothsayers say The Year of
the Monkey will in China bring a stockmarket boom, a freer Yuan currency -
and a hefty dose of political chaos.They could be talking of
Zimbabwe.

The colourful Chiyangwa, once the darling of all and sundry in
Zanu PF, mustbe wondering what has hit him.

While there were some few
instances of public anger displayed by hissupporters at his long
incarceration, by and large most of his closecolleagues and business
associates stayed so far away from the trial that hewas suddenly like the
man who caught "mapere mbudzi", leprosy.

Come to think of it, it's not
only Chiyangwa who must be feeling a bitlonely. There are reports that most
of the movers and shakers in businessand politics are keeping a very low
profile, and that means fewer visits tothe "small houses".

The result
is that conspicuous consumption is down and there are less"cabriolets" and
other top-of-the-range cars on Zimbabwean roads followingthe ENG
saga.

In fact, it is said, many of those who have them are keeping their
sportscars and sports utility vehicles under lock and key to avoid the
police, andZimra, who are on the prowl for such imported luxury vehicles
whose ownersmight have evaded paying duty.

Back to The Year of the
Monkey, internationally experts say US PresidentGeorge W. Bush, born in the
Year of the Dog in 1946, faces a difficultre-election campaign in 2004 even
after the capture of Saddam Hussein.

Msika revolution

WHAT would
happen, in this year of monkey business, if it so happened thatUncle Bob
decides to take some sabbatical leave to lecture on goodgovernance at say,
the University of Somaliland, and leaves good old JosephMsika in power for
12 months?

On his return, Uncle Bob would find that Morgan Tsvangirai is
now the leaderof the opposition in Parliament and a regular guest for tea at
State House.

He might be surprised to hear that half of his Cabinet are
working fromChikurubi Maximum Prison and Tafadzwa Musekiwa is back as an MP
afterabandoning his vegetable business in the UK. Just
pontificating.

Gono mylitis

YOU just have to give it to
Zimbabweans, in spite of their daily trials andtribulations; there is still
a lot of humour that goes around.

Some of the new jokes coined recently
are meant to lighten and take pleasurefrom the valiant efforts of Reserve
Bank Governor Gideon Gono to rid thebanking sector of avarice, corruption
and mismanagement.

One of the unkind jokes doing the rounds is that there
is a disease causingimmense pain to the ranks of corrupt black indigenous
businessmen.

GOVERNMENT apologists are chortling with glee these days.
Zimbabwe'sproblems are all but over, they proclaim through what is supposed
to be thepublic media.

With the help of the new Reserve Bank
Governor, Dr Gideon Gono, they havefinally identified the culprits
responsible for the economic ills of thecountry. These are the financial
sector and corrupt business people. Someare now behind bars for fraud and
corruption and Gono has put in placenecessary mechanisms for financial
recovery.

We are now assured that because of the Gono magic, the
Zimbabwe dollar hasstrengthened against other currencies and inflation has
gone down. They saythe economy has now turned round the bend but no matter
how hard you look,even with magnifying glasses, you won't see where it has
turned.

Inflation, to some of us, is going in one direction which is up,
and theeconomy is still going in the other direction - and that is down. I
wish Icould be more optimistic but I choose to be a realist. Our excitement
isonly for the short term. The chickens hatched by a decade of full
blowncorruption still have to come home to roost is how I see it.

It
is true that corruption in the business and financial sectors has
reachedfrightening levels.

The Herald editorial aptly describes the
situation thus: "Reports over thepast few weeks on the goings on within the
financial services sector,notably asset management companies, make
depressing and startling reading. Abunch of ravenous, selfish people,
including fresh-faced youths bent atgetting rich quickly and living large,
have allegedly mismanaged billions ofdollars belonging to investors to
further their own nests.

"... It was corruption on the grandest scale.
Never before or since hasZimbabwe been up against cases of corruption that
depict the total lack ofconscience, patriotism, or the sheer greed of some
people more than thecases that are now being probed. The figures that are
being mentioned insome cases are simply frightening."

Apart from the
poor English, I totally agree with The Herald's editorial.The total lack of
restraint and conscience in some Zimbabweans today issimply
frightening.

What concerns decent citizens of this, now very poor
country, is the ages ofmost of the people involved in the corruption. Their
ages vary from 24 to 30years. They are just youngsters barely out of school.
At independence theywere babies on their mothers' backs. Who could have
influenced, encouragedor even assisted them?

Who taught them to
steal, cheat and lie without their consciences botheringthem? Who were their
role models?

It is a known fact that people are products of their
environment. Children'scharacters and personalities are to a large extent
shaped by the environmentthey grow up in.

The Bible says: "Train up a
child in the way he should go, and even when heis old, he will not depart
from it," Proverbs 22:6.

My brother, Markim, who was director of Streets
Ahead, which cares forstreet kids, once came to me almost in
tears.

He had spent a terrible day pleading on behalf of some street kids
who hadbeen arrested for various crimes. His conclusion was: "Those kids
areinnocent as far as I am concerned. It is their parents who should
bearrested and flogged. They abdicated their parental
responsibilities."

At the national level the question stands: Who is to
blame for thecorruption and moral decadence in Zimbabwe today? Of course
Zanu PF andgovernment apologists always have convenient scapegoats ready to
blame foranything that goes wrong in Zimbabwe.

Strange as it may
seem, Nathaniel Manheru (some say he is actually JonathanMoyo, Minister of
Information and Publicity in the Office of the Presidentand Cabinet) writing
in The Herald, mocks and blames respected political andeconomic
commentators: John Makumbe, Tony Hawkins and John Robertson for notwriting
that there was corruption in the private sector. To tell the truth,I failed
to see any kind of logic in his Herald column of January 17,

But then,
does the confused man ever make any sense when defending thepolitical status
quo of which he is part. He even went on to blame theprivate media, the MDC,
the British, the Americans and the hapless Madhukuof the National
Constitutional Assembly for allowing the corruption inZimbabwe to go
unchecked.

In fact, to him, anyone opposed to the ruling Zanu PF
government is somehowto blame for the corruption which has engulfed
Zimbabwe.

The most despicable scapegoating of all, by government
apologists, isblaming the former Reserve Bank Governor, Leonard Tsumba, for
not doing whatGono is now doing.

What they do not mention is that
Gono is a loyal and trusted party cadre whowas given the green light to do
what he is doing now. Tsumba is anapolitical professional. He was not so
trusted and thus had his hands tied.He did not have the mandate that Gono
has.

In Zimbabwe, if you have a high government position, you just don't
actwithout making sure that what you are doing is politically correct.
TheMinister of Home Affairs, Kembo Mohadi clarified to us how the system
works.In The Herald of January 17, he was reported to have said that his
ministryhad a duty to execute a directive issued by President Mugabe at the
MasvingoZanu PF conference last month, to clamp down on all corrupt
individualsirrespective on their political standing or
influence.

This makes it clear that Zimbabwe's law enforcement agents
only act againstpolitically powerful law-breakers after receiving directives
from "high up."

This means that Mohadi was all along aware of the evil
that was going on butcould not act without a presidential directive. Need we
look any further forsomeone to blame for the culture of corruption
prevailing in the countrytoday.

Should we then blame young people
when they are in fact emulating thebehaviour of their role models - the
heroes of the liberation struggle?

AT its annual general conference held in December, the
Movement forDemocratic Change and other civic organisations that gave
solidaritymessages at the conference agreed to forge a popular alliance in
fightingfor a better and a more just Zimbabwe.

It was not the first
time that the opposition party and organisations likethe National
Constitutional Assembly, Zimbabwe National Students Union andthe Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions regarded themselves as members of onefamily who
should fight together for the betterment of Zimbabwe.

As a matter of
fact this spirit of brotherhood that the civics are showing,is the same
spirit that guided the civics in 1999, culminating in theformation of a
broader movement of civics which was being led by the abovementioned
organisations. It is this movement that was later transformed intoa
political party, which we are calling, the Movement for Democratic
Changetoday.

I shall not delve deeper into the reasons why this
movement was transformedinto a political party but I shall highlight that
the transformation of thismovement left a void in the civil society and also
that there is need to goback to the pre-1999 political organisation amongst
civics which culminatedin the Agenda for Action bringing on board the
students, workers and theunemployed, if the popular alliance that was formed
at the annual conferenceis to be sustained.

The ruling Zanu PF regime
has labelled civic organisations and the labourmovement mere proxies of the
MDC. Each time the students go on strike ongenuine grievances they are
labelled opposition activists and at times theMinistry of Higher Education
officials have refused to give audience tostudent leaders saying that they
are being "sent by Morgan Tsvangirai." Thethen Permanent Secretary in the
ministry Michael Mambo and Minister IgnatiusChombo refused one such meeting
in 1999 arguing the students were speakingMDC language and they could not
give them audience on those grounds. Quiteinteresting.

The united
front that the opposition and the civics propose for 2004 must behailed
because it is something that will take away the monster that Zanu PFis. The
MDC and civics must realise that they lost the battle to Zanu PFbecause of
fighting lone battles and fighting isolated struggles against oneenemy-Zanu
PF.

When Mugabe wanted to declare Zimbabwe a one-party state in 1989,
workersand students joined hands to fight against the regime. Students at
theUniversity of Zimbabwe joined hands with the Tsvangirai -led ZCTU in
openresentment to the one-party state. Tsvangirai was even arrested for
issuinga strongly worded statement of solidarity with the UZ Students
Unionleadership. It is this spirit of oneness that is lacking in civil
societycircles today.

In the late 90s whenever the ZCTU and NCA
called for demonstrations, thesewere crosscutting demonstrations, which
included all pro-democracy forces.The reason why today's demonstrations
whether by the opposition or the oncevibrant civil society organisations are
failing to make significant impactis because of lack of concerted efforts
and co-ordinated effort.

The same sentiments were echoed by NCA chairman,
Lovemore Madhuku when hetold the MDC delegates at the annual conference that
unity was the only wayforward to unseat the Zanu PF regime. He said: "Unity
is certainly the wayforward. We need a combination of demonstrations to
confront the Mugaberegime to agree to free and fair elections, an end to
human rights abusesand to uphold the rule of law."

The situation in
the country which is characterised by a highly partisanarmy and police, lack
of rule of law and the silencing of dissenting voicescalls for unity of
purpose among Zimbabweans.